Where do Wilder Ideas come from?

While I was born in Pennsylvania, I was raised in Orange County, Southern California.  My father owned two children's orthopedic shoe stores, Wilder Shoes, and I learned my work ethic from helping in the store from the age of 13. My father was a community leader and my mother was the creative one with a drive to succeed.

As soon as I graduated from high school, started college and turned 18, I was off to Disneyland...to WORK!  It was the best experience for any young person. This was back in the early 70's, when the park still had TICKET BOOKS and "E" ticket rides.  I discovered that it really was the "Happiest Place On Earth".

While the job was fantastic, yes...taking guests on tours of the park and seeing the Jungle Cruise, Pirates of the Caribbean and It's a Small World every day, sometime twice a day...the customer service skills I learned and the people I worked with made every day a most amazing adventure.  In addition to the daily responsibilities in City Hall, welcoming guests at the front gate, and taking tours, our department had the opportunity to take movie stars and high level corporate executives on tour, visit special places like Club 33, and we reached out as public relations support for the Anaheim Convention and Visitors Bureau and the opening of the Walt Disney Travel Company.

A little known fact, I actually was one of the 10 runner-ups for the Disneyland Ambassador in 1974.   And, one other "claim to fame" was an appearance on the hot show of the decade..."THE DATING GAME".  Yes, I picked the bachelor and yes, I took the trip...and, no, it wasn't exactly the dream you would imagine!

The Wilder Ideas that have developed over these many years have much to do with the training and experiences from my Disneyland days.  Of course, it didn't hurt when I ended up working with the largest advertising agency (Tracy-Locke/BBDO) in Denver at the end of the 70's.  But the lessons learned and the ability to understand the quality and expectations of what customers want and need ...that certainly came from those early days!

Mikki & Mickey 

A bit more about Dorm Room Designs

For those who know me, this was a natural transition project.  With my experience with organization and detail, it seemed like a perfect idea (or a Wilder Idea) to approach one of the finest schools in Colorado with the idea of helping students and parents decorate dorm rooms.  DU and I worked together to decorate a room in one of the freshman dorms at the University of Denver.

In record time (just one week), the room went from "oh my goodness" to "WOW".  With Labor Day approaching, the school actually needed every available room, so we decided to open the "IDEA ROOM" for the two weeks before move-in, get photos to post on the University's housing website, show off some of the great storage ideas to the RAs and move everything out in time for the new students' arrival.  To help promote the service, I dropped off information and tape measures at local hotels that would be hosting parents and students and also set up a booth at the first day "First Year Orientation Trade Fair".  Now, let's see if this helps students down the road.  The cost is just $30 per hour and with my well-rounded shopping knowledge (who me?), I can direct them (or go with them) to some of the best shopping locations (and many of the best discounts) around.  One other great benefit...this will work in ANY DORM ROOM, ON ANY CAMPUS.

Can't believe, I'm going back to school with my Wilder Ideas!

Working around a safe in the closet, the Container Store's Elfa drawer unit was a great solution,
Crate&Barrel Marimekko fabrics were AMAZING to work with...and Ikea had just opened!

Again, we had to work around a safe in the closet and the InterMetro
shelving worked great.  Target, Big Lots and Ikea helped give us lots of storage.

Yes, this was one side of the original room...the transformation was
wonderful and I was ready to move in!

A little bit of history...

For those who know me or my work, Wilder Ideas has been a labor of love for most of my life.  I have always enjoyed mailing things and creating ideas that were just this side of normal (or crazy) and working my ideas into traditional systems like the U.S. Post Office and main stream corporations.  In 1985, while working as the Director of Advertising and Promotions at the Sheraton Denver Tech Center (the largest hotel in the Denver Tech Center at the time), the wonderful staff encouraged me to be as creative as possible...the ideas of Bottle Mailings and three-dimensional packaging took hold and began to flourish.  


The response to the themes I developed and the reactions to the unusual mailers were AMAZING and I knew I had found my nitch.  Most companies are hesitant to bend the rules or try something totally "out of the box"...but for me, it was a challenge I enjoyed and my employers and future clients embraced my desire to do what had never been done before.


In 1989, with two wonderful clients, I started Wilder Ideas.  In just the first three years, we were mailing basketballs for the Denver Nuggets, footballs for the new Invesco Field at Mile High, introducing tourists to the Mile High City and had started working with some of the nation's best known consumer electronics companies (Hewlett Packard and Apple Computer).  


It's difficult to talk about the "best" or the "most creative" project, because they all take on a life of their own.  From 27,000 rubber fish mailed with messages down their throats for Exabyte to 7,000 hand grips that talked about "Getting A Grip On Your Retirement" for JB Hunt and Merrill Lynch, each and every Wilder Idea sends a message that is recognized and remembered for years to come.


Many of my clients have stayed around for years and I have had the opportunity to work with so many different types of companies.  Whether it's an annual event for the Young Presidents Organization, a community assistance program like the Denver Mayor's PJ Party, a sales blitz for companies like Zoll Data and Coalfire or the groundbreaking invitation for Denver Pepsi Center, it's a challenge I welcome and enjoy.  They still talk about me at the Post Office Mailing Requirements Office (my projects are even on display).   I am still fortunate to work with Visit Denver, the Convention and Visitors Bureau, Destination Colorado (going on more than 15 years), many hotels and resorts, like RockResorts and Vail Resorts, and in 2007 I started working on an annual event for a client in Dublin, Ireland.  Yes, business has and continues to get wilder and wilder and wilder!


When the theme, design and mailing side of my business slows down, I've found a new strength in organization and design.  Just recently I started work with the University of Denver on a long-term project to offer "Dorm Room Designs" to students and their parents...the next step may be into the home or real estate business to help organize closets, drawers and pantries (something no one else seems to want to do).


Please follow along and see what's been done, what's in the planning stages and what Wilder Ideas might be coming down the road.  


If you want to see photos (of course, I keep EVERYTHING) or want to talk ideas, just give me a call.


Mikki
303.741.4050
www.wilderideas.com